News

Food Grade Warehousing Requires Superior Standards

Pest control substances are placed around the outside of the food grade warehouse perimeter to eliminate the presence of rodents, insects, ants, birds and other animals and pests.

When searching for a warehousing company, it is important to understand what the company’s exact storage needs truly are and to understand the differences between the various types of warehousing facilities readily available.

It is no surprise that there are special requirements for Food Grade Logistic services. It is of the utmost importance to be aware of these standards and what each warehousing company is doing to go above and beyond to meet those standards.

Pest Control: Pest control substances are placed around the outside of the food grade storage perimeter to eliminate the presence of rodents, insects, ants, birds and other animals and pests. Each quarter, detailed inspections check for any evidence of infestation and the results are recorded in a log book to track the number of times the traps and substances have been changed.

Master Sanitation Schedule: Housekeeping and cleaning are scheduled and documented. The food grade warehousing facility is clean and tidy at all times, from the furniture to the floor. Records of cleaning must be readily available at all times.

Personal Hygiene and Training Program: Employees working in food grade storage must at all times wash their hands with soaps in specified hand sinks, which are equipped with hygienic drying devices. A record of employee training in quality awareness, personal hygiene, food safety, traceability, incident and crisis management is required and updated. Temporary staff must also be trained accordingly.

Lot Traceability: The food grade warehousing operation unit is responsible for tracing lot and date codes on products for ensuring that they are rotated on a FIFO, which means, first in, first out, basis. The warehouse unit must also be aware at all times of which materials are stored or have been delivered or dispatched. [1]

With these principles in place, businesses can rest easy knowing FW Warehousing takes the highest precautions and preventative measures to make sure any and all defects or contaminants do not reach FW Warehousing’s stored products.

Also, FW Warehousing contracts AIB International for third party auditing and quality control. “Scoring well on an AIB Inspection shows that a supplier is committed to doing all they can to provide clean, safe products and is a source of pride that provides a competitive advantage. Sharing audit inspection scores with potential customers is a way to demonstrate dedication to providing safe, superior products.” [2]

The AIB International Superior Rating for a warehousing company is the highest level of recognition.

The AIB International Superoir Rating for a warehousing company is the highest level of recognition. In achieving the AIB Superior Rating, FW Warehousing is ranked in the top one percent of all food grade warehousing facilities in the world when it comes to cleanliness and food safety.

With that information FW Warehousing guarantees exceptional operational methods and personnel practices, the highest quality maintenance for food safety, cleaning practices and pest management within the warehouses and adequacy of prerequisite and food safety programs.

FW Warehousing is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with Midwest warehouse distribution centers in Kansas City, Indianapolis and St. Louis totaling more than four million square feet. Founded in 1949 with a focus on food-grade storage, FW later broadened its services to include contract warehousing, dry storage, hazardous material and chemical storage, temperature-controlled storage, product distribution and B2B and B2C fulfillment.

FW Warehousing has more than 50 years of experience in third-party 3PL logistics and has been ranked in the top 100 Third Party Logistic Companies in the country by Inbound Logistics Magazine.